Year 12 Get a Taste for Higher Education at CCU

Our Year 12 students had a chance to visit Canterbury Christchurch University to get a taste of possible pathways beyond the end of Year 13.

On arrival at Sessions House the students were met by the student recruitment team and taken to a lecture theatre to discover our activities for the day. The recruitment team are made up of former and current students, so they are in an ideal position to advise the students on future routes and also the transition from being a sixth form student to a university student.

The students were given a guided tour of the campus, seeing inside faculty areas, lecture rooms and social areas. It was nice to view a promotional video of the university that included a former Hayesbrook pupil, Joshua McMillan, who is currently studying a Masters. The highlight of the day for many of the students was the opportunity to take part in some mini lectures and for this the students were invited to use the TV, Film and Movie making equipment. As you can see from the images, it isn’t as easy as it looks to use the high tech cameras that we all watch the outcome of on television. Students were also able to see the editing, sound and lighting rooms and how the transition effects are added at the commands of the director.

Either side of lunch, students took part in two lectures with one on scriptwriting and a second from the Business school. The students were clearly enthused by the delivery of both mock lectures and they are now aware of how this aspect of university can be different to lessons at school.

This visit was an important part of our work with the pupils about how studying at the Hayesbrook School can lead the university course or career of their choice.

Trip leader and Assistant Principal, Mr Reader, said: "It was a great opportunity for the pupils to get a feel for how a university runs and what a typical day feels like from a student perspective. Having the recruitment team available to guide us through the day was an added bonus and to experience the lectures in the way that they were delivered was a real bonus. I am sure that the students will take a lot from this visit and that their future pathway options are made a little clearer for them."

To build upon the student's enthusiasm for university or career pathways, there will be a UCAS information evening before the end of the school year.